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Patos, Lagoa dos

(Encyclopedia)Patos, Lagoa dos ləgôˈə do͝os päˈto͝os [key] [Port.,=lake of the ducks], shallow tidal lagoon, c.150 mi (240 km) long and up to 30 mi (48 km) wide, Rio Grande do Sul state, SE Brazil. A wide s...

isinglass

(Encyclopedia)isinglass īˈzənglăsˌ [key], gelatinous semitransparent substance obtained by cleaning and drying the air bladders of the sturgeon, cod, hake, and other fishes. Isinglass is manufactured in Russia...

Dias, Bartolomeu

(Encyclopedia)Dias, Bartolomeu bärˌto͝olo͝omāˈo͝o dēˈəsh [key], d. 1500, Portuguese navigator. He was the first European to round (1488) the Cape of Good Hope, which he called Cabo Tormentoso [cape of sto...

souari

(Encyclopedia)souari or swarri nut, name for tropical trees of the genus Caryocar, abundant in N South America. The fatty “nuts,” botanically drupe fruits, somewhat resemble Brazil nuts but are much larger and ...

gaucho

(Encyclopedia)gaucho gouˈchō [key], cowboy of the Argentine and Uruguayan pampas (grasslands). The typical gaucho, a familiar figure in the 18th and 19th cent., was a daring, skillful horseman and plainsman. As f...

electric fish

(Encyclopedia)electric fish, name for various fish that produce electricity by means of organs usually developed from modified muscle tissue. The electric eels of South America are freshwater knifefish unrelated to...

Burton, Sir Richard Francis

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of t...

Médici, Emílio Garrastazú

(Encyclopedia)Médici, Emílio Garrastazú əmēˈlyo͝o gəräshˈtəzo͞o mĕdˈĭsē [key], 1905–86, president of Brazil (1969–74). An army general, he served as head of the national intelligence service. He...

mestizo

(Encyclopedia)mestizo māstēˈsō [key] [Span.,=mixture], person of mixed race; particularly, in Mexico and Central and South America, a person of European (Spanish or Portuguese) and indigenous descent. The mesti...

Ribeiro, Darcy

(Encyclopedia)Ribeiro, Darcy rēbāˈrü [key], 1922–97, Brazilian anthropologist, statesman, and author. An expert on the indigenous peoples of Brazil, he wrote many books, notably the six-volume 1960s work, Stu...